Program Impact: 2016-2017 Results

These program test results further validate the work Mind Meets Music is doing to improve the academic achievement and transform the lives of the students we serve throughout West Michigan.

As part of its partnership with the United States Department of Education, Mind Meets Music is undergoing a 4-year study to evaluate the efficacy of the program. This study is being conducted by WestEd, a national research and assessment organization located in California.

Along with the Mind Meets Music test group, a Comparison group of students with similar demographics who did not participate in the Mind Meets Music program is also included in the study. Given the nature of the target student population Mind Meets Music serves, the Comparison group began the study with higher literacy and math proficiencies than the Mind Meets Music test group.

Using the 2014/15 academic year as the baseline, the following are Mind Meets Music’s program test results from the 2015/16 and 2016/17 academic years.

Literacy Proficiency

Students in the Mind Meets Music test group saw an overall improvement rate of 33% in literacy proficiency between the 2014/15 baseline year and the 2016/17 academic year.

Literacy Achievement Gap Reduction

In literacy, the proficiency achievement gap between students in the Mind Meets Music test group and students in the higher performing Comparison group was reduced from 30.6 points to 9.6 points between the 2014/15 baseline year and the 2016/17 academic year.

Math Proficiency

Students in the Mind Meets Music test group saw an overall improvement rate of 52% in math proficiency between the 2014/15 baseline year and the 2016/17 academic year.

Math Achievement Gap Reduction

In math, the proficiency achievement gap between students in the Mind Meets Music test group and students in the higher performing Comparison group was reduced from 17.6 points to 12.3 points between the 2014/15 baseline year and the 2016/17 academic year.

Change Over Baseline

Between the 2014/15 baseline year and the 2016/17 academic year, students in the Mind Meets Music test group saw a greater rate of overall improvement in proficiency for both literacy and math than students in the higher performing Comparison group.

Other Findings

Classroom Teacher Benefits

86%

86% of classroom teachers agreed that Mind Meets Music caused them to reflect on their teaching beliefs, helping them develop integration capacity, comfort, and tools.